RWC Report
Who's hot and who's not after a month of action ...

By Matthew Wuest - www.RedWingsCentral.com
October 15, 2007

With the season already a month old, Red Wings Central takes a quick look at the early trends in the Detroit Red Wings' system.

— Right-winger Igor Grigorenko hasn't been impressing anyone in North America so far. He reported to camp out of shape and ended up with the Grand Rapids Griffins, and is now without a point in his first three games in the American Hockey League. Editor's note: Archived video footage of Grigorenko prior to his 2003 car accident is available here »

— Credit forwards Ryan Oulahen (goal, two assists) and Johan Ryno (one goal, two assists) for solid starts in Grand Rapids. Goaltender Jimmy Howard (57 stops on 61 shots in two starts) is also playing well early.

— Swedish left-winger Dick Axelsson looks poised to be a high riser on the prospect charts this season. The skilled sniper has three goals and two assists in his first six games with Djurgardens in the Swedish Elite League.

— Axelsson's teammate, goaltender Daniel Larsson, is another one rising fast. He's got a 2.41 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in seven starts and could replace Howard in Grand Rapids next season.

— Defenseman Brendan Smith began his NCAA career at Wisconsin with two assists in two games. He's the only U.S. college player in the Wings' system to have recorded a point after the first week of action.

— The Wings' Canadian Hockey League prospects have been relatively quiet. Forward Cory Emmerton (Kingston, Ontario Hockey League) has been the most productive, with 11 points in 10 games. Forward Jan Mursak (Saginaw, OHL) is the only other CHLer with a point-per-game.

The following is an up-to-date statistical report for skaters:

NAME TEAM LEAGUE GP G A PTS PIM

A H L
Ryan Oulahen Grand Rapids AHL 3 2 1 3 0
Johan Ryno Grand Rapids AHL 3 1 2 3 6
Evan McGrath Grand Rapids AHL 3 0 2 2 2
Jonathan Ericsson Grand Rapids AHL 3 1 0 1 0
Igor Grigorenko Grand Rapids AHL 3 0 0 0 0
Jakub Kindl Grand Rapids AHL 3 0 0 0 2
Mattias Ritola Grand Rapids AHL 3 0 0 0 10

R U S S I A
Miroslav Blatak Ufa RUS 16 2 1 3 12
Gennady Stolyarov Moscow Dyn. RUS 9 1 0 1 6

S W E D E N
Dick Axelsson Djurgardens SWE 6 3 2 5 0
Anton Axelsson Timra SWE 9 0 4 4 4
Joakim Andersson Boras SWE-2 9 1 5 6 8
Joakim Andersson Frolunda SWE-J20 1 2 0 2 0

C H L
Cory Emmerton Kingston OHL 10 5 6 11 0
Jan Mursak Saginaw OHL 9 4 5 9 2
Randy Cameron Moncton QMJHL 11 3 5 8 0
Zack Torquato Erie OHL 9 3 4 7 16
Logan Pyett Regina WHL 11 3 3 6 13

N C A A
Brendan Smith Wisconsin WCHA 2 0 2 2 2
Justin Abdelkader Michigan State CCHA 1 0 0 0 4
Nick Oslund St. Cloud State WCHA 1 0 0 0 0
Nils Backstrom Alaska-Anchorage WCHA 2 0 0 0 2
Bryan Rufenach Clarkson ECAC 3 0 0 0 0

The following is an up-to-date statistical report for goaltenders:

NAME TEAM LEAGUE GP W-L-O GAA SPCT
Jimmy Howard Grand Rapids AHL 2 2-0 2.00 .934
Daniel Larsson Djurgardens SWE 7 -- 2.41 .914

LEAGUE LEGEND: AHL -- American Hockey League; RUS -- Russian Elite League; SWE -- Swedish Elite League; SWE-2 -- Swedish second level; SWE-J20 -- Swedish under-20 league; OHL -- Ontario Hockey League; WHL -- Western Hockey League; QMJHL -- Quebec Major Junior Hockey League; CCHA -- Central Collegiate Hockey Association; WCHA -- Western Collegiate Hockey Association; ECAC -- East Coast Athletic Conference.